


Shine Bright Like A Diamond

by LapisLazuli13



Series: My Solangelo fictions [4]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Awesome Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Cute, Cute Cinnamon Roll Nico di Angelo, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Nico discovers his new powers, Oblivious Nico di Angelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-05-31 04:06:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15111464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LapisLazuli13/pseuds/LapisLazuli13
Summary: “Will, do you know your potential boyfriend could turn stones into diamonds?”“Nico is not… wait, what?!”“So you admit that you want him to be your boyfriend.”“That’s not the point. What did you just say?”“I’m saying that you should never let the Stoll brothers know that little fact if you don’t want them to steal your cinnamon roll of darkness, but yeah, I saw it by my eyes, he could turn stones into diamonds.”





	1. Elysian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _**Elysian** (adj.) beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect._

#  ** Shine Bright Like A Diamond**

##  _**1, Elysian.** _

**_Elysian_ ** _(adj.) beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect (Origin: Greek)_

…

Hazel and Nico shared two main aspects of their father: Hazel got the wealth, and Nico could control the death. But to a certain degree, their powers overlapped. When Hazel learned how to control the Mist, she also got a bit ability to grab the shadow too, and Nico’s more than willing to help her to learn it. She still can’t shadow travel though, but at least now the daughter of Pluto could open and close a small space in the shadow, and she liked to call it a convenient storage because she could store something inside that space and grab them whenever she wanted.

For Nico, Hazel tried to teach him some of her powers too, but except controlling the ground – a skill that he already knew since he was ten, so it hardly can count – he still can’t learn anything else from her. Well, at least that’s what both of them thought before Reyna suggested Nico to try to do some magic with a small stone, and somehow he turned it into a diamond.

“Wow,” Hazel breathed out when she examined the shining jewel. “It’s beautiful and so pure, it’s easily worth thousand dollars. And because it’s a stone before, I’m pretty sure it’s not cursed.”

Reyna was giving him a proud smile with a thumbs-up and suddenly Nico felt like a small child that just got praised by a big sister – or even a mother, but he’s not sure should he tell the female praetor that or not.

“I still don’t know how did I do that,” Nico shook his head, still looking so bewildered. “Maybe it’s just beginner’s luck or a one-time case.”

“Oh, don’t underestimate yourself that much, you silly,” Hazel giggled when she gave her brother the tiny stone. “You should keep it, that’s the first thing you could do that related to my domain of power.”

“I wonder if that might be the _only_ thing I could do in your domain of power,” Nico dryly replied, but he took the stone nonetheless. “Maybe it’s because of the stone itself.”

“It’s just a regular stone that I picked up on the street,” Reyna shrugged. “Pretty sure it’s not the reason.”

“Well, to be honest, I have the ability to summon valuable treasures under the ground, but not turning something else into them. Your new ability is kind of interesting. You should practice it some more.” Hazel gave him an encouraging smile and Nico nodded back at her, smiling a little bit. He felt better now and sure, why shouldn’t he try? It didn’t hurt to learn something new once in a while.

…

It turned out that Nico actually could transform stones into diamonds, or some other precious gems, for that matter. But diamonds were the easiest to turn into and he practiced to change the stone’s colour too – he liked black, but unfortunately, it’s the hardest shade of colour of a diamond for him to do. He accidentally turned some stones into obsidian and garnet when he tried to do that, and so far he only succeeded with one stone, but he still felt happy about that small victory for a whole day.

Nico wanted to keep it a secret, and he did it well. It’s tempting to tell Jason about that at first, but Nico told himself that he should practice until he’s truly good at it before demonstrating his new ability to his friend. After all, this new skill was cool, but it’s pretty useless when it came to fighting though. After Hazel told him about the small shadow storage that she liked, Nico thought about using the shadow realm as a form of storage and tried to think about some useful stuff it could do when in a fight. He asked Percy to help him and when he managed to command a shadow to swallow a whole whirlpool that the other demigod summoned, Percy looked like an extremely accurate imitation of a goldfish and that made him so pleased with himself.

The diamond-transforming skill was nice, but still, Nico didn’t know what could he actually do with that, and that one of the reasons why he hadn’t told anyone yet.

***

Katie Gardner, a daughter of Demeter who was in charge of watering the plants outside the Demeter’s cabin and on the strawberry field this week, found a secretive Ghost King was sitting next to their field, doing something that looked pretty weird with a lot of stones in front of him and a small pile of… wait, were those gemstones?

“Nico, what are you doing here?” She coughed slightly and cleared her throat when she approached him. Nico didn’t seem to startle by that, so he already knew she’s coming or he’s just not the scaredy-cat type. Even though, he hastily gathered all the stones in front of him and covered them with both of his hands.

“Hi, Katie. I was just… sightseeing, I guess.”

When he’s caught off guard, his lying skills were terrible though.

“You was sightseeing with a bunch of stones?” Katie raised one eyebrow, half-amused and half-disbelieved. “Your choice of companion’s pretty weird.”

“So you saw that?” He sighed, but not moving his hands. “How much did you see, exactly?”

“… What do you mean by that?” Katie was confused a little bit. “I just saw like two piles of stones, but one of them was shining and glinting a little bit and the stones in that pile were suspiciously like gems, but that’s all.”

Nico just wordlessly stared at her, and Katie blinked but didn’t break their eye-contact. Nico’s intimidating, but for some reasons, she and most of Demeter’s kids weren’t afraid of him. Maybe it’s because their mother was his godly grandmother after all, so it made her be his aunt… No, it’s still too weird, let’s not think about that.

After ten seconds, Nico sighed again and took back his hands, revealing two piles of stones just as Katie saw before. She squinted at the smaller pile, and yes, they did look like gemstones. “Those shiny things are pretty.”

“It’s because they’re precious gems,” Nico shrugged and Katie’s eyes widened at that. “I made them.”

Her eyes just got bigger. “You summoned them?”

“No, I’m not Hazel,” he pouted, and Katie found herself suppressed a small laugh because now she understood why some campers said he’s actually pretty cute when he’s not trying to be terrifying. That action was so adorable. “I told you, I made them.”

“Made?” She tilted her head to the left side, looking confused. “As in… you created them?”

“Yeah,” Nico nodded. “I was practicing my new skill. Apparently, I could turn normal stones into diamonds or some other gems, and I’m still exploring the limit of that skill. So far it just seems cool, but I think when it comes to battles it’s pretty useless though.”

Katie inhaled, then exhaled deeply. Sitting in front of her was a boy that just claimed that he could turn stones into precious jewels, but he said that skill was just cool and pretty useless. Oh dear, that cinnamon roll was cute when he’s slow. No surprise that not only Will but actually a lot of other campers were having a crush on him now.

She sat down next to him and waved a hand over the pile of gems. “May I?”

“Sure, go ahead.” He nodded, and she took one of the gems to examine. It was a small transparent blue diamond, and it was so pure and beautiful that even though Katie wasn’t a gemstone expert, she still could tell that tiny thing could be worth at least $10,000. Basically, Nico possessed thousands of dollars in his hand right now and he could actually make more. Even a money-printing machine wasn’t as precious as him.

Then she suddenly remembered the story about Hazel’s cursed jewels and hastily dropped the gemstone. “Sorry, is it–”

“It’s not cursed if that’s the thing you’re worried about,” Nico reassured her, and Katie let out a sigh of relief. “I turned it into a diamond from a regular stone, so it’s harmless.”

The girl let out a relieved sigh, taking another gemstone. This one was shining brightly under the sunlight with a captivating yellow-green glow, and when she moved it around her fingers, the colour changed from a yellowish green to a pinkish orange, and it’s mesmerizing to observe. “What’s this one?”

“I don’t know,” Nico scratched the back of his head, looking slightly shy when a faint shade of blush appeared on his cheeks. “I just thought the colour’s nice, so I corrected and adjusted its shape and aspects until I was satisfied.”

“Wow,” Katie breathed out, didn’t know what to say. For a boy that claimed he only discovered this skill recently and mostly self-taught, he’s pretty talented when he could create something like that. It might even be a whole new kind of gemstone and it could be worth thousands, even millions of dollars.

“What do you do with those gemstones?” Katie asked. Based on what he told her and the way he normally acted, she doubted that Nico had thought about selling them for money. And it’s not like he needed money either, that boy’s father was literally the God of Wealth and he’s fond of his only living son, so she wouldn’t be surprised if Nico tells her that Hades already gave him a huge amount of money as allowance.

“I keep the successful ones inside a box in my cabin,” Nico blinked. “And I threw away the failed ones, there’s meaningless to keep them anyway, I don’t want to store a huge bunch of stones.”

“… The failed ones?” The Demeter’s daughter blinked, all the gemstones she could see here was beautiful and they looked precious.

“Yeah, like that one,” Nico took out a small gemstone from the pile and handed it to her. It was a tiny one with a darker shade of blood red that was close to purple. He explained, “I don’t like the color, it’s dull, and the quality of the gemstone’s structure isn’t good either. To be honest, I can fix it, but I prefer to start creating a new one.”

Katie wordlessly stared at the dark red stone in her hand. That’s Nico’s definition of a failure? He must have a high standard because it was pretty to her, and even though it didn’t shine as bright as some other gems, the mysterious beauty it possessed was still worth thousands of dollars if it was in right hands. A jewels seller would never reject that one, and if Nico was telling her the truth about throwing away his failed gemstones, he literally threw away a huge amount of money without thinking twice.

Well… being the son of the God of Wealth can make you have different perspectives about money and properties, apparently.

“Do you like any of them?” Nico suddenly asked and Katie looked at him, seeming confused. “You can take anything that you like, I don’t mind.”

Now she gasped loudly and didn’t even blink when she stared at the son of Hades. “Really?”

“Really,” he smiled, and Katie silently reminded herself that she still needed to breathe. For a second, she truly understood why Will Solace and some other campers said that Nico’s an angel, just like his last name, because the boy possessed a heavenly smile that lit his entire face up in an angelic aura, making him look ethereal and breath-taking. “I can create them, remember? And Hazel told me that most of the girls like those shiny things, so I guess if you’re one of them, you could take any gemstone that you like. Just… promise me that you don’t tell anyone, especially the Stoll brothers, okay?”

“Not tell the Stoll brothers, got it,” Katie grinned when she took a green one from the pile, examining it carefully. “But… can I at least tell one or two of my friends? They’re all good secret keepers, and I promise that we won’t tell anyone else. It’s just… you can’t expect me to keep that a secret forever, your new power is amazing!”

Nico seemed hesitated for a moment, and Katie’s worried if she pushed her luck too far, but then he nodded. “Fine, I know you’re not the nosy type or a gossip girl, so I guess it’s okay if you want to tell your close friends. But please don’t spread the news, I don’t want to be stared at like an outcast again. Things just start to be peaceful recently and I don’t want to lose it.”

“I understand,” she nodded at Nico, feeling a strange wave of relief mixed with a little bit guilt swept over her body. “I promise. And I’ll take that one, thank you.”

“You’re sure you don’t want anything else?” He asked, and she shook her head.

“No, just one is enough. This has the most beautiful shade of green and looks like a small leaf, and it’s perfect for me. Thank you for this, I truly appreciate your generosity.”

“Don’t mention it, just remember to keep your promise,” He grinned at her, collecting all the gemstones and putting them in his jacket’s pocket. “I think I need to go now, and you also should come back to your work. See you later.”

“See you later, Nico.”

…

Katie barely can hold her excitement when she’s back to her cabin, the green gemstone was inside her jeans’ pocket, and she carefully thought who could she share the story with. At first, she thought about her best friend, but as much as she loved Miranda, her sibling wasn’t exactly a perfect secret keeper. She promised that she wouldn’t tell the Stoll brothers, and even if Nico didn’t make her, she still won’t do that – who knows what would they do if they find out Nico’s new power?

She needed to tell someone about this wonderful story, but that someone had to be a good person that knew how to keep a promise and some secrets. And it’s better if that someone was sort of liking Nico… Katie grinned, now she knew exactly who could she share her story with.

…

The head counselor of the Apollo cabin was working in the infirmary when Katie found him. The hospital wing in the Camp wasn’t crowded today, just some kids with dislocated ankles or shoulders that happened when something’s gone wrong in training, along with some superficial burns from the lava walls climbing. Those didn’t require the skills of the head medic of Camp, so Katie could talk to Will freely.

“Hey, Will, do you have some moments?” She asked when the blond was putting on a bandage for a ten-year-old child from Aphrodite cabin.

“Sure, do you need anything?” Will nodded while giving the kid a small square of ambrosia. “Here, eat it and you’ll feel better.”

When the kid munched on the ambrosia, Katie winked at Will. “Nothing, but I have an interesting story that requires somewhere more private, can I borrow you a few minutes?”

Will looked mildly surprised at that, but he still nodded and called his sister Kayla to take over his current work. He gestured at the closed door of the supply room and then at the outside of the infirmary, “Which place do you prefer to have that secret conversation?”

“Either is fine,” Katie shrugged. “Just don’t want anyone to eavesdrop on us.”

“You make me feel so curious now,” Will laughed, walking at the outside door’s direction. “I need some fresh air, would you mind taking a walk?”

“Sounds great,” she agreed and followed him. They chatted amicably, exchanging some non-important stuff before their feet got them to the side of the forest. There’s nobody here and it’s so quiet but in a good, serene way, and Will turned his head at her.

“So, what’s the secret that you want to tell me?”

Katie grinned at the blond, a hint of mischievousness glinted her eyes, “Will, do you know your potential boyfriend could turn stones into diamonds?”

The tips of Will’s ears immediately reddened. “Nico is not… wait, what?!”

 _Caught you_ , she thought to herself victoriously. It’s not like Will’s gigantic crush on Nico di Angelo was a secret at Camp anymore, it’s so obvious to almost everyone but Nico (Katie honestly didn’t know that’s lucky for Will or not), but teasing the blond was so fun and seeing him turned bright red whenever someone mentioned his crush was kind of interesting.

“So you admit that you want him to be your boyfriend.” She smirked. They would look cute together, people said that opposites attract each other like magnets after all.

Will coughed, trying to look less flustered when he scowled. “That’s not the point. What did you just say?”

There’s no way he heard right what did Katie just tell him. His potential boy–… okay, at this moment Nico was still his crush, but that’s not the point either – his crush can turn a stone into a diamond? Will knew Nico possessed a wide range of powers, and he both admired and a little bit scared of the son of Hades’ impressive but terrifying skills, but that can’t stop him from liking that boy a lot. But as far as he knew, Nico’s powers had a strong connection with the death, and diamonds fell into his Roman sister’s realm of powers more.

“I’m saying that you should never let the Stoll brothers know that little fact if you don’t want them to steal your cinnamon roll of darkness, but yeah, I saw it by my eyes, he could turn stones into diamonds,” Katie blew out a stray hair in front of her face, grinning brightly when pulling out the inner of her pocket and giving him a small stone. “I caught him was practicing that skill when I walked to the strawberry fields to water them, and he told me that he learned that skill recently and made me promise to tell only one or two people, they also need to keep it as a secret too. Since my best friend’s sadly not a good keeper, you’re lucky when I choose you to share that story with.”

Will took the small gemstone from her hand and scrutinized it carefully. He breathed out in awe after one minute. “Wow, this is beautiful. He seriously created that?”

“Well, to be honest, he didn’t demonstrate it to me, but I think there’s no reason for him to lie to me,” Katie shrugged. “And it’s not like I need some concrete proof anyway, I just accidentally found out his secret after all. And I got a pretty gemstone from it so I don’t complain.”

Will gave the stone back to her, his face was back to normal, but the crease between his eyebrows got deeper a little bit. “Thanks for sharing that with me, I appreciate it, but what do you expect me to do with it?”

“… Seriously?” Katie stared at the blond, resisting the urge to face-palm. “Well, I don’t expect you to do anything, you just need to keep it a secret. And as far as almost this entire camp know, you’re having a crush on Nico so I think sharing a story about him with you can make you feel, I don’t know, happy?”

“… Actually, I’m feeling more confused than ever, but anyway that’s a great information,” Will grinned at her. “I’ll think about what can I do with that afterward, thank you.”

“You owe me this one,” Katie smirked. “Can I ask for a small favour?”

“Sure, if I can help you,” Will nodded. “What are you thinking of?”

“I wonder if you can give me a vial of nectar,” she looked quite thoughtfully. “I know it has great healing ability on people and I think it might work with plants, too. We have some poorly developing herbs in our garden, and I’m almost hopeless in finding a way to treat them. Just a small amount, I know that liquid is precious after all, but I really want to save those herbs.”

“Ah, it’s alright,” the head counselor of Apollo cabin smiled at Katie. “I’ll put some in a vial and give it to you when we’re back to the infirmary, deal?”

“Deal.”

***


	2. Adronitis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Adronitis** (n.) frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone.

##  _**2, Adronitis.** _

_**Adronitis (n.)** frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone._

…

After giving Katie the vial of nectar, Will came back to his cabin and plopped down to his bed, thinking deeply. He remembered the moment Katie caught him subconsciously admitted Nico’s his crush, but well, she also said it’s hardly a secret to anyone in camp except Nico at this moment anymore. Will honestly didn’t know should he feel relieved or depressed at the other’s adorable density. But at least, he knew Nico’s more than capable of making him surprise again and again.

Will put an arm on his forehead, looking at the ceiling and starting to list all the information about Nico that he knew, focusing on his powers. As a son of one of the Big Three, the boy was insanely powerful, and the number of his skills was just impressive. For example, controlling the death, summoning an entire undead army, and commanding them to fight for him were all super useful and terrifying skills. Then, the boy can use shadows as a mean of transportation, and he did bring a gigantic statue called Athena Parthenos across the world to the Camp to stop the war – who else on Earth could possibly do that?

Will groaned when some memories made their way back to his mind, rolling on his bed then end up lying on his stomach. As much as he admired the so-called shadow traveling thing, the blond didn’t like that particular skill of Nico so much after learning how it could go haywire and badly affect his health. Hell, it even made Nico slowly fade into nothingness when he overused it, and Will could never forget the dreadful feeling when one time he tried to catch Nico’s wrist, but his fingers went through it like there was no substance at all.

 _Let’s not think about unpleasant memories_ , Will exhaled and tried to get back to his previous thought about Nico’s powers. Well, for more, the son of Hades could control the earth and make the ground break under his command – nobody in their right mind wanted to piss him off if they still valued their life. The blond has heard some rumours that the son of Hades could also control the temperature around him too, making it become crazily hot with hellfire or extremely cold in a semi-arctic state, and that still wasn’t the end of his powers. Seriously, that boy was too strong with all those insane powers, but he also possessed an indomitable will: he was the first demigod ever that survived Tartarus on his own, and with all the shitty things life threw at him, he still managed to keep his sanity and selflessly threw away his life to help the others. Nico truly had almost no sense of self-preservation, and Will found that both impressive and admirable, but he’s still pissed off at the same time.

As if having all these powers wasn’t enough, when Nico actually had chances to eat properly and take care of himself, he slowly gained some weights, and the original olive complexion of his skin was coming back with a healthy glow, making him look positively adorable. It’s not like Will hadn’t noticed the other’s delicate features before, but after Reyna more or less convinced _(read: forced)_ Nico to get a haircut, the entire camp suddenly became very aware of how attractive the son of Hades was, and to be honest, Will didn’t like all the attention they gave Nico after that realization.

The boy was growing up, and puberty did nothing but favours to him. He’s still thin, but it wasn’t a miserable kind with only skin-and-bone anymore, now he looked healthier with all the straight and curvy lines that created his lithe body. Nico had a graceful but deadly aura around him, his movements were swift and captivating to watch. A nice figure with a breath-taking face wasn’t a fair combination, but Will definitely didn’t complain anything. Nico possessed delicate facial structures with big dark chocolate brown eyes, high cheekbones, bow-shaped lips and well-defined jawlines. He looked masculine but yet feminine at the same time – the kind of unisex beauty that’s satisfied to look at for both genders. Girls said he’s handsome, boys argued that he’s beautiful, but they both agreed that he looked aesthetic, like a living work of art.

All these reasons made it unable for Will to stop liking Nico, and having a crush on that boy was unavoidable and unstoppable but it also kind of suck all the time, because of various reasons, like Nico’s disturbing tendency to run away whenever he sensed danger or he just didn’t want to deal with a situation. And when Will said “run away”, it truly meant running far, far away – to be more accurate, shadow-traveling away to New Rome for example.

That kid was skittish around people that he didn’t trust, and Will wasn’t willing to gamble with his chances when the possibility of a running-away-and-never-coming-back Nico di Angelo was still there. He needed to take each small step closer to the son of Hades, testing his reaction before making any decision.

And man, baby steps were _frustrating_.

**…**

**..**

**.**

The second person who knew Nico’s new secret ability – third, technically – was surprisingly not Jason as Nico planned. Well, you can’t blame him, it’s not like Nico wanted that to happen anyway. That person didn’t know the whole story, and it was sort of… sympathy with the situation after all, Nico thought so.

 

It started on a Thursday afternoon when Mitchell stopped him on his way back to his cabin after training. “Nico, I need to ask you for a favor.”

Nico carefully observed the son of Aphrodite. Mitchell was attractive, just like the rest of his cabin, with soft hazelnut brown hair, amber eyes, and delicate facial features. He looked mildly nervous at this moment, and that made Nico lower his guard a little bit. “What’s that?”

“Can I speak to your Roman sister Levesque?” Mitchell asked, and Nico was surprised at the request. It’s not like he didn’t want anyone to talk with his sister, but this was just like coming from nowhere. He needed a proper reason to agree with this.

“Sure, but could you tell me what’s that about?”

“It’s kinda embarrassing,” Mitchell seemed so interested in his feet, before sighing heavily. “The story is… my father falls in love with a new woman after years mourning about my mother, and I’m happy for him. This Sunday he finally convinces her to go on a date with him, and that woman likes jewelry so much so my dad wants to choose a beautiful bracelet for her, but he can’t find anything that pleases her taste – the lady has a quite unique aesthetic eye after all. So I wonder since your sister is kind of an expert about that, could I ask her to help my father?”

That’s actually thoughtful of Mitchell, and Nico thought he has no reason to reject the request. “I’m sure she doesn’t mind helping you, but… are you aware of the fact that her jewels are cursed?”

Apparently, the son of Aphrodite wasn’t, because he paled a little bit at that. “They are? I… I didn’t know.”

The black-haired boy sympathized with the other. “They are,” he confirmed but hastily added when the crestfallen look on Mitchell’s face made him feel guilty. “But I think we have another way to help your father. At least I hope so.”

“We do?” The son of Aphrodite’s face lit up at that with a bright smile. “I’ll do anything you need me to do if we could actually find a way to help my dad! Thank you so much!”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Nico shook his head, calculating the possibility to use his new skill. Hope that he’s good enough to make a proper jewel if he wanted to help Mitchell by his own. “Just tell me about that lady’s preferences of her jewelry. I’ll contact Hazel and ask her to help me with that, and if we succeed, you’ll be the first person to know.”

“Sure!” Mitchell was practically jumping in joy at that moment, and Nico allowed himself a satisfied smile at that. “She likes big and shining pieces of jewelry, with a lot of gemstones and bright colors! She likes hot pink, rose red, amber yellow and vivid green the most!”

The black-haired boy kind of disagreed with the colors combination, but he didn’t judge. “You can walk with me to my cabin, I’ll give you some papers and pencils to draw any ideas you have about the jewelry she might like, and we’ll choose one to cre–… to find for your father, I mean.”

If Mitchell noticed the halted moment before Nico switched his word mid-sentence, he didn’t say anything. “I’m okay with that. Thank you so much, Nico!”

…

Nico took a sketchbook and some pencils from one drawer and gave them to the son of Aphrodite. “Make yourself at home, but don’t touch anything even if they make you feel curious, I might or might not put some Underworld stuff somewhere that I don’t remember.”

Actually there’s no Underworld stuff lying around carelessly – Hazel made her brother clean the Hades cabin at least twice a week even if she wasn’t there, so Nico slowly formed a cleaning habit anyway – but even though he knew Mitchell was nicer than an average Aphrodite child, just like Piper’s better than Drew, he’s still worried about their penchant for gossip and drama. Piper rarely joined their gossip nights and even when she’s there, she still didn’t care much, but according to her everyone else did, and Nico hated gossip anyway.

“Sure, I won’t.” Mitchell smiled brightly at him before focusing on his paper. Nico opened another drawer to take some clothes, he just finished his training and it’s not comfortable walking around with sweaty clothes. He might probably smell a little bit as well, and he wanted to get rid of the sticky feelings as quickly as possible.

 

When Nico finished his shower, three papers of drawing were on his bed. Mitchell was sketching on the fourth one, his eyebrows almost knitted together, his lips pursed forward a little bit, imitating a duck’s beak. It’s quite funny to see a child of Aphrodite thinking so hard and temporarily forgetting about maintaining their perfect image.

“Are you done?” Nico asked, and Mitchell jumped up a little bit like he forgot he’s inside the other’s cabin. The son of Hades chuckled, and Mitchell inhaled deeply before opening his mouth, his voice was a little bit strained, like he was physically restraining himself from squeaking.

“Oh my gods, please don’t suddenly appear like that! You scared me!”

“Well, I didn’t mean to do it,” the son of Hades blinked. “But I thought you’re inside my cabin and you already knew I just took a shower so…” He shrugged and trailed off. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Mitchell’s voice was back to normal now, and he smiled, waving a hand at the papers were lying across the bed. “I have about five patterns here, and I’m working on the sixth one. Is it too many?”

“It’s fine, we’ll choose just one after all,” Nico sat down on the bed, observing the drawings. “I thought you said your father wants a bracelet? I see both necklace and earrings here.”

“Well, I might subconsciously let things get a little bit out of hand,” the son of Aphrodite sheepishly admitted, toying with the pencil in his hand. “They’re all jewelry after all, I think if we could get the colours and the gemstones right, we don’t need to care about what it is.”

Nico nodded at that, smiling a little bit while thinking about how could he get those colours combinations. No black, thank Gods, but red bordeaux diamond, honey yellow, fuchsia pink, amethyst violet and lapis lazuli blue gemstones weren’t easy to create either. He might need more than one day to get it done, well at least today’s Thursday so he didn’t have to hurry.

When he looked up, Mitchell was staring at him, mouth half-opened and he seemed slightly shocked. Nico cleared his throat, his voice laced with concern. “What’s wrong, Mitchell?”

The son of Aphrodite shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong! It’s just… you really should smile more, Nico!”

Oh, _that again_. Nico frowned, “Why everyone keeps telling me that? It’s not like I don’t know how to smile. I _do_ smile, even more often than I did in the past.”

“No, you don’t get it at all,” the brunet sighed, but the corner of his mouth was rising into a smirk. “You have a beautiful smile, Nico. It makes you look less intimidating and more adorable!”

“I’m not–”

“Hey, let me finish! You look your age when you smile, more childish and care-free. Normally your face looks, you know, like it has permanent marks of time, sorrow and sadness–” Mitchell waved both his hands in a defensive gesture at the raising eyebrow of Nico. “–which is understandable when I know what you’ve gone through, but those seem to disappear when you smile! It’s angelic!”

Nico was sure his face flushed a dark shade of red now. “Well, technically I’m old enough to be your grandfather if we count all the years I spent in Lotus Hotel–”

“Dear Gods, that’s _so not_ the part I want you to pay attention to!” Mitchell’s smile faded, and now he looked like someone just forced a whole orange down to his throat. “Now I understand why does Will look so miserable whenever he thinks of just how to approach you and find some topics to talk about.”

Nico seemed even more confused. “I don’t understand how could Solace relate to this conversation…”

 _“Holy Hades,”_ the son of Aphrodite muttered, looking defeated. “Okay, that’s enough. I’ll let Will deal with his problems by himself. Let’s come back to the main topic.”

Nico was still confused about Mitchell’s sudden outburst, but he opted to not dwell on that subject. “Are you done with the sixth pattern?”

“Close enough,” Mitchell replied. “Do you like any of those five ones?”

“It’s not a gift for me so I don’t think my opinion matters at all,” Nico shrugged, but Mitchell gave him a look that’s clearly saying _dear-fucking-gods-just-choose-one_ , so he did. “I like those earrings,” he pointed at the pattern number three, tracing his delicate fingers along the line. “They look simpler than the rest, but still extravagant and fanciful. I guess if we could make the colours right, they will be radiant.”

“Hmm, so let’s pick that pattern,” Mitchell put down the pencil, stretching his stiff body. “I’m so done. It’s quite a long time since the last chance I had to draw something that detailed. I’m tired.”

“… You’re fine with that?” Nico blinked in surprise. “You asked for my opinion and I gave you, but as I said, it’s not a gift for me.”

“And it’s not a gift for me either,” Mitchell shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t want to spend too much time discussing which one should we choose, the first one is always a good choice after all. But you can keep those patterns if you want to change your mind, just let me know, and I’m pretty fine with whichever of them. You think how much time you will need to find a pair like those?” He pointed at the earrings Nico chose.

“I guess a day or two?” Nico tilted his head to the left side a little bit, calculating carefully. “Two days at most. I’ll give you the final result on Saturday.”

“It’s even quicker than I think,” Mitchell grinned delightfully. “Man, shopping is always an exhausting job. Do you want me to accompany you?”

“It’s fine, I don’t think you could endure multiple shadow-traveling in a day,” Nico shook his head. He wouldn’t shadow-travel to all the jewelry shop he knew to find those pieces when he actually could create them from stones, but of course, he won’t tell Mitchell _just that_. “It’s easier if I go alone.”

“Suit yourself,” Mitchell agreed. Even though he hadn’s shadow-traveled with Nico before, just listening about the experience already made him want to avoid it at all costs. “So, I guess I’ll see you again on Saturday, right? And please keep the price tag, I will give you the money back.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” Nico smiled. He didn’t even think about that, well, it’s not like he could write a small note _‘Those earrings cost about a Happy Meal from McDonald’s because I’m kinda hungry after creating them so I would need that.’_ or something else similar. He might need to ask for Hazel’s opinion about that problem later. “See you on Saturday.”

“Thank you so much for doing this, Nico. It means so much to me and my father!” Mitchell smiled and thanked the son of Hades again when he went outside his cabin. Nico nodded and waved a hand at him as a goodbye.

…

Nico summoned some stones and started his work after finishing his dinner and taking another shower. He tried two times before creating the earrings. He focused on two stones at one time to achieve the highest similarity as possible. It might sound hard, but after one hour Nico found it actually easier than he thought.

He finished the earrings quite late this night, and when he’s satisfied with his work, it’s past midnight and the son of Hades suddenly realized he’s exhausted. He trained all this afternoon and already used a huge amount of powers before, so even though creating gemstones normally didn’t tire him too much, today he felt totally worn out after spending his last bit of strength to concentrate without screwing up the earrings. He deserved a long, dreamless sleep tonight and nothing can stop him from getting that.

Nico opened the drawer that he used to keep his gemstones and carefully placed the pair of earrings onto a soft velvet cloth. He yawned, plopping down to his bed and letting out a relieved sigh, closing his eyes. Sleep came to him pretty quickly, and just about five minutes later Nico’s already deep sleep.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are something I deliberately ignore for the sake of this fic:
> 
> \- Hints of Nico's growing crush on Will at the end of BoO.
> 
> \- The entire TOA series.
> 
> …
> 
> We don't have any Will-Nico interaction in this chapter. I'll make up for that in another chapter for sure.
> 
> I'm sorry if I keep any of you guys waiting too long for an update, writer block hit me like an aircraft carrier last week and it took my motivation away. Gods I hope it's not another four-month period staring at the screen and couldn't put my thoughts into words. Damn.


	3. Limerance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Limerance** (n.) the state of being infatuated with another person _(Origin: Swedish)_

##  _**3, Limerance.** _

**_Limerance_ ** _(n.) the state of being infatuated with another person (Origin: Swedish)_  

…

The next day when Nico called by Iris Message, Hazel suggested him to bring those earrings to a jewelry shop and ask them how much did them cost, but he’s kinda lazy to shadow-travel today, and he told her that he didn’t know any shop, and he also had no idea how to deal with the questions the shop owner might ask about the source of those jewels. Bonus the fact that they’re actually just stones so he felt like defrauding if he charged Mitchell any dollar for them.

“So, how about you telling him the truth instead?” Hazel scrunched her nose, seeming both annoyed and fond of his stubbornness. She was scowling at him, but the corner of her mouth kept twitching like she actually wanted to smile but trying so hard to suppress it.

“I don’t really want to,” Nico shook his head, looking mildly nervous, even though he didn’t have a proper reason for that feeling. “I know Mitchell is a good person and all, but Aphrodite cabin has a bad reputation for gossiping. They even meddled in other people’ love life before – don’t get me wrong sis, I don’t have any love life to worry about anyway, and Piper stopped that game already,” Hazel nodded at that and gestured for him to continue. “I don’t know Mitchell well enough to trust him to keep my secret. Even if he does, some of his cabin members can charmspeak, and I don’t think I’ll risk the chances.”

“Ugh, sometimes your calculating and careful nature rubs me in all the wrong way,” the daughter of Pluto rolled her eyes. “I suggest you should ask Annabeth if she knows how to evaluate the value of jewelry or not, and ask her to make you a price tag if she could, too.”

“… I’ll try that,” Nico smiled at Hazel. “Thank you so much, sis.”

“No problem, brother,” Hazel smiled back at him. “Don’t forget your visit to Camp Jupiter next week with Jason. Reyna complains that you spend too much time with him recently and she worries that he might have some negative effects on you – even though I doubt that, Jason is nothing but kind-hearted and caring after all – but don’t be upset about that, you know she’s kind of overprotective of you.”

“Yeah, got it,” the son of Hades grinned before breaking the IM connection. “Miss you, Haze.”

“Miss you too.” Hazel’s smile faded with the rainbow screen, and Nico plopped back to his bed, thinking for a moment. Her suggestion was reasonable, the Athena cabin didn’t have a habit for gossiping, and he knew he can trust Annabeth. It’s just… Nico would rather deal with some unknown jewelry shop owners more than facing with Annabeth’s calculating gaze and her inner self-developed lie-detecting machine.

But at least he can believe in her ability to keep his new skill a secret, right? He would dodge the possibility to tell her at the best he could, but even if he has to, it’s not a harmful situation at all.

After ten minutes, Nico made up his mind and decided to go find Annabeth.

…

The daughter of Athena, of course with all her brain power, knew Nico’s hiding a secret from her right after two minutes talking with him.

It’s not even a surprise to her anymore, everybody knew that kid’s secretive. Her boyfriend Percy was frustrated about that sometimes in the past, and even when they’re on good terms now, occasionally he’s still bitter about it. Just like how he’s still holding a tiny grudge of the “not my type” incident. Annabeth wondered with amusement when Nico can’t ignore it anymore and give him a lecture about letting it go.

“Well, first of all, you have to know that I’m not a gemstone expert,” the blonde flipped a ringlet of golden curl over her shoulder, scrutinizing two pieces of earrings in front of her eyes. “So I might miscalculate to a certain degree, and I can’t be blamed for that.”

“I’m okay with that,” Nico nodded at her, looking slightly uneasy. He was fidgetting with his skull ring, and Annabeth just knew that’s a small habit of his, he always did that whenever he’s unsure about something – guess what, Reyna told her that one time. “It’s not like I need an exact price anyway. I just want it to be reasonable so Mitchell and his dad can afford those earrings. We find them for his father after all.”

“Hmm, I can work with that,” Annabeth hummed quietly, taking out a magnifying glass. She examined the earrings for three minutes before breathing out in wonder. “Those gemstones are radiant and well-structured. Two gems on the same spots are almost identical, even in the way they reflect light in different angles. Whoever created this masterpiece must be a skilled one.”

“Uhm, I guess so,” Nico laughed nervously, “So, you think how much do they cost?”

Annabeth’s gaze fixed on the son of Hades, “Can’t be too cheap, because nobody will buy it. They’ll think those ones are fake at a cheap price.”

“Don’t make it too expensive,” Yup, Nico’s actively avoiding her eyes. He’s definitely hiding something.

“We’ll settle with a medium, reasonable price,” the daughter of Athena nodded, but she didn’t take her eyes off the boy. “Let’s evaluate each gemstone, then we could sum up the total amount after that.”

“I think it’s alright.”

“Glad you agree,” Annabeth smiled. “Care to tell me how did you get them, Nico?”

“I know that I shouldn’t hope that you won’t ask any question, especially _that one_ ,” Nico grimaced slightly, but now he didn’t avert his eyes anymore. “You already figured out that me buying them couldn’t be the case, right?”

“Obviously,” Annabeth chuckled. “And I think they’re not from Hazel, either, otherwise you’ll just ask her about the price. And as far as I remember, Hazel could summon raw gemstones, not crafted jewelry, and her precious metal and gems are all cursed so I guess both of you wouldn’t want to give them to anyone after all.”

“My godly step-mother has a garden of precious gemstones,” Nico suddenly said, and if Annabeth wasn’t a daughter of Athena, she might actually tell him to continue the story. Well, to be honest, that sounded tempting to know for her too, but she didn’t want to get distracted from the main topic.

“And I guess you decided to tell her about Mitchell’s story so she empathized with his father and offered to give them a gift like that?” She replied with non-malicious sarcasm.

“No, but I just remembered that and it gives me an idea,” Nico shook his head, stopped fidgeting with his skull ring. “Anyway, I think it’s no harm telling you. Long story short, I created those earrings from regular stones.”

For a brief moment, Annabeth wanted to smack her forehead with her palm, but she resisted the urge. “For Anthena’s sake, when did you learn that?”

“Recently,” the son of Hades sheepishly admitted, “I’m not that good, you know. Still in the beginning.”

Now the blonde wanted to bang her head on the table, “In what realm of “not that good”, Nico? Those gems are well-crafted and each edge is beautifully sharpened, they look like they were created by an expert jeweler.”

A hint of pink dusted Nico’s cheeks, “Thank you for your generous compliment, Annabeth, but–”

“I think 950 dollars will be a reasonable price,” the daughter of Athena interrupted, putting her magnifier down. “To be honest, those earrings cost more than $2,500 in my opinion, but I don’t think you will agree with that, and Mitchell wouldn’t be able to pay that price in a short time either. Besides, it’s not like you lose anything if you charge the boy less than $1,000 anyway since you literally crafted them from almost nothing.”

“I guess you’re right,” Nico smiled politely while Annabeth hummed and gathered her tools, carefully to not touch the earrings on the table. “Thank you so much for helping me, Annabeth.”

“Don’t mention it, I’m happy to give you a hand,” the blonde smiled genuinely, gesturing at the jewelry, “Do you have any nice box to put them in?”

“Not really, but I think Mitchell could take care of it,” Nico grinned while picking the earrings up, casually putting them inside his jacket’s pocket. “I gotta go. See you around, Annabeth.”

…

Nico bumped into Will Solace when he left the Athena cabin and was on his way back to the 13th Cabin.

“Ouch!” They both yelled a little bit at the collision. For Will, it’s more like a surprise; but for Nico, it’s a little bit hurtful since his forehead slammed into the blond’s left shoulder, which was not exactly the softest thing in the world.

“Whaahh, are you okay?!” Will’s healer instinct immediately kicked in when he saw Nico was rubbing his forehead, pain flashed across his face. Before neither of them could realize anything, one of Will’s hand already on the son of Hades’ shoulder, while his other hand gently grabbed Nico’s smaller hand, replacing it to rub his slightly reddened skin.

“I’m fine, just a little bit hurt,” Nico reassured when he could hear the anxiety was evident in Will’s voice. He could take care of the light injury himself, but for some reasons, Nico didn’t slap the other’s hand away like he usually did. It was nice though, the healer’s hand was warmer than Nico’s and it offered a comforting effect. Nico didn’t hate that anyway.

“Do you need a small visit to the infirmary? A little ambrosia or nectar couldn’t hurt,” Will kindly offered, trying to ignore the fluttering heartbeats and the butterflies in his stomach at the feeling of touching his crush, being next to him that close.

“Geez, I’m fine, Solace. Just a small incident and it doesn’t even swell or leave a bruise. I don’t need special treatment for such a small injury, you know. I’m not that fragile,” Nico flinched slightly at the thought of going to the infirmary. He was more or less forced to stay inside that place for a minimum of three days before and he couldn’t say they were all good memories. At least he didn’t hold any grudge toward it or the person who dragged him inside – who was Will Solace no less, because who else could do that without getting their arm detached from their body anyway? – so that’s part of the reasons why he got Solace as a sort of friend.

The curly blond opened his mouth to argue, but then he opted not to. He sighed instead, “If you insist. But if it gets reddener or wouldn’t stop being painful, you need to come to me immediately, understand? Doctor’s orders.”

“That joke never gets old,” Nico snorted, but the corner of his mouth was rising into a small smile, “I got it, Solace.”

“Okay,” Will reluctantly let go of Nico’s shoulder when he noticed how the tension of his body was increasing after each second. The boy wasn’t fond of physical contacts and Will already knew it, but he secretly wanted to change it so much. It’s just he still hadn’t figured out how to do that without scaring the other off. “This might sound irrelevant, but may I ask why did you come out of the Athena cabin before? I don’t think you and Annabeth or any member of that cabin are that close.”

“Hmm, it’s nothing to worry about,” Nico shook his head and said dismissively, but when he saw the slightly hurtful expression on Will’s face, he added, “I had something that I needed Annabeth’s opinion. She helped me and I got it done, and everything’s alright.”

“I see,” Will replied, and if he had no feeling toward the younger boy he should take that’s a cue to end their conversation, but of course when you’re kinda having a crush on someone, you want every moment interacting with them last as long as possible. “I know I sound like a too curious and even nosy person right now, but may I know what kind of things that you needed to have Annabeth’s opinion? You’re already pretty smart yourself, you know.”

“I’m not that good,” Nico’s cheeks reddened a little bit and honestly Will found it too cute that he couldn’t take his eyes off the other. “Anyway, I guess telling you couldn’t hurt. Wait a moment, I have something to let you see.”

The son of Apollo didn’t blink once from the moment Nico put his hand inside his pocket, searching for something. When he finally pulled out, Will’s eyes widened at the sight of two beautiful earrings.

“Oh, they’re pretty!” He cheerfully commented, one hand hovered over the jewelry like he’s itching to touch them. Nico gave Will a slight nod and the blond took one earring by three fingers, eyeing that in awe. “They’re so well-crafted! I have never seen anything that beautiful in my life before, you know! Well, it’s not like I cared for jewelry before, so my judgment can hardly count though.”

“They’re not that wonderful,” Nico mumbled, and for some reasons, his cheeks flushed a darker shade of red.

At first, Will didn’t understand, but then suddenly he remembered the little story Katie told him just four days ago, so he asked, “You created them, didn’t you?”

He realized that saying those words must be a mistake when Nico stopped dead in tracks and stared at him. The horrified look on the black-haired boy’s face made him want to mentally slap himself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean–”

“How could you possibly…” Nico mumbled, the corner of his mouth was quivering slightly, “Katie told you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Will confirmed his suspicion, running a hand through his hair nervously. Gosh, he’s such an idiot. “And before you could be angry at me, I swear that Katie made me promise not telling anyone else, and I always keep my words.”

“Well, I’m not angry at you, just… surprised, I guess,” the son of Hades smiled a little at the worried face Will’s making. “You figured out my little secret pretty quick, though.”

“It’s not that hard to guess,” the blond sheepishly smiled when he handed the earring back to Nico, who carefully put them inside his pocket again. “But seriously, that’s an amazing talent you have, Nico! It more likely falls into your Roman sister’s realm of powers, right? But you have perfect control of that art, I couldn’t tell the difference between natural gemstones and the ones you create at all!”

“I told you I’m not that good,” Nico looked away, biting his lower lips lightly when he averted Will’s exciting gaze. “Anyway, I really gotta go now…”

“Wait a minute,” the blond said before he could know what did he want to say, so they fell into a small awkward moment for some seconds before Will blurted out, “Could we talk about that later, Nico? I really want to know more about yo- your awesome abilities!”

“… I guess it’s alright,” Nico hesitated at first and Will’s heart dropped to his stomach before it leapt to his throat the next moment, “When we have some free time if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s my pleasure!” Will smiled brightly. He might sound a little bit _too eager_ , but he couldn’t care less.

“Alright then,” Nico offered the son of Apollo another small but sincere smile. “See you around, Solace.”

The blond made a mental note that he needed to get Nico to call him “Will” from the next time they talk.

…


	4. Solasta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Solasta** (adj.) luminous, shining.

##  _**4, Solasta.** _

**_Solasta_ ** _(adj.) luminous, shining._

…

Mitchell practically jumped in joy when he saw the jewelry that Nico gave him on Saturday.

“Oh my gods oh my gods!! Nico, they are wonderful! Splendid! The colors, the shapes are perfect! She will surely love those!”

“I’m glad that they meet the expectation,” Nico smiled at the other’s excitement. “Find a pretty box to put them in, will you?”

“Of course! And how could I thank you for that?” The son of Aphrodite looked up, his eyes were bright and shining with genuine gratefulness. “I don’t see any price tag here. How much do they cost, Nico? I will make sure to pay you back as soon as possible!”

_Oh crap, I forgot about making a price tag. Well, too late._

“Let’s not worry about that at this moment, alright?” The son of Hades waved his hand. “They don’t cost much for me anyway.”

Truth to be told, Nico still felt a little bit wrong to tell Mitchell the price that Annabeth helped him to evaluate. He had some ideas what should he say if Mitchell presses the subject without revealing his secret, but let’s see where could the situation go so he could improvise a believable story.

“Eh?” Mitchell looked quite confused at that statement. “You bought them by your money, didn’t you? You saved me from a lot of problems like finding the shop, searching for the right piece already, and I know you wouldn’t add those to the price so at least give me a number for that, alright?”

Nico considered his words for a moment. “… That would be 950 dollars, but you don’t need to rush to give me that money.”

The son of Aphrodite’s eyes widened quite comically. “950 dollars aren’t nothing, Nico! Look, I don’t have that much money with me right now, but I promise I will tell my father and he will give me money to pay you back as soon as possible.”

“Actually I have another idea,” Nico decided to settle on a story formed from a spark of ideas he had when he was talking with Annabeth yesterday. “Do you know that my godly step-mother, Persephone, has a garden with a lot of jewels?”

Mitchell stared at Nico for three seconds, then looked at two pieces of earrings in his hands, and then looked back at Nico with confusion written all over his face. When he spoke, his voice was evident with disbelief. “Are you telling me those earrings came from…?”

“Uhm, no,” Nico shook his head, yeah, saying just that could mislead to a wrong conclusion. “I’m just saying… since she has spent decades taking care of her exotic garden, she’s quite an expert in the field. And I’m not, so I asked her, and she gave me some suggestions. $950 is just a number I got when I asked another person to evaluate the earrings for me, it’s not the real price. To be honest, I don’t know what is the real price either, but it’s not that important.”

The silence stretched for two minutes made Nico start to wonder did he say the right thing. Could that story be too much for the son of Aphrodite to digest?

Finally, Mitchell took a deep breath. “Nico, are you aware that telling me a goddess helped me find a gift for my father’s lover only makes the situation… I don’t know, harder? Stranger? More complicated? I really appreciate your help, Nico, but I didn’t think it would be that troublesome for you. I’m sorry.”

_No, it was me who didn’t think you would overthink this story that much. That’s my bad._

“Don’t say sorry, it’s not your fault, and I didn’t get any problems at all,” the son of Hades shook his head, well, it seemed like things got a little bit out of hand. How should he handle this situation?

Mitchell still looked uncertain. “But you asked your godly step-mother…”

 _Oh, that. Sometimes I forget no matter how nice they are to you, gods are still gods after all. It’s understandable why Mitchell feels anxious._ “Don’t worry about Persephone, I think she doesn’t mind. But if you insist on making her know how grateful you are, you could burn some offerings for her and pray at her shrine, that’s all.”

“That’s all?” Mitchell’s eyes lit up with joy and relief. “It’s not hard, I will sure do it! And keep in your mind that I will still give you 950 dollars since that would be the easier story to tell my father.”

Nico figured that he shouldn’t argue with the other’s logic. “Ah, and about the story I told you…”

“I will keep it as a secret, alright?” Mitchell smiled before Nico could finish his sentence. “Trust me, I don’t want to go around telling people about my dad’s love life so your story is safe with me.”

Nico guessed he could trust Mitchell for that. “If that’s okay with you, I agree.”

“So it’s decided,” the son of Aphrodite grinned. “Thank you so much for going through all the trouble to help me, Nico! I will never forget that!”

“Okay,” Nico found himself smiling back at the other. “Wish you father best luck then.”

“With this awesome gift, I believe his date will be great. Goodbye, Nico.”

Nico looked at Mitchell’s back when he walked away, a smile was still evident on his face. Well, the response he got was better than he expected, but on the other hand, the story he told Mitchell was totally untrue. At least it couldn’t do any harm when Mitchell got what he needed, promised to keep it as a secret, and Persephone wouldn’t be unhappy if someone shows her their respect, would she?

_It would be good if she doesn’t notice, but if she does then I still could explain it without provoking her temper. Now I’m waiting for the result of my work from Mitchell, and if it’s good, I think it’s time to tell Jason. And Reyna, too. About that, I should schedule a visit to Camp Jupiter soon…_

“Did something great happen?”

Nico slightly startled when Will’s voice suddenly pulled him out of his train of thoughts. Wow, must be a new thing when he didn’t notice someone was moving closer to him. It’s usually his quiet nature made people forget he was there and claim that he surprise them, not the other way around.

“Good morning, Solace,” Nico quickly gained back his composed expression. “Ah, nothing much. I was just thinking about stuff, you know.”

Will hummed quietly at that. “You seem friendly with Mitchell before. Did talking with him make you feel happy?”

Nico neither noticed the tiny bit of bitterness in Will’s voice nor thought much about the indication in his question. “Maybe. I was a little bit nervous at first, I might screw up at some points in the middle, but luckily thing turned out alright in the end.”

“Glad to hear that,” Will smiled tenderly. “Now, do you have some spare time?”

“I guess I do,” Nico nodded. “Do you need something?”

“I just want to spend time with you, is that alright?”

“Oh.” Nico looked quite surprised like he still hasn’t got used to the fact that someone’s willing to spend time with him but not because of some world-saving or death-controlling stuff. “Uhm, I mean… it’s okay. What do you want to talk about? Or what do you want to do with me? Like a sparring match or something?”

 _I want to talk about you and how much I admire you. And I want to hold your hand or hug you tightly in my arms right now._ “Ah, no, just hanging out like normal friends is fine; besides, I’m not really a fighter. Anyway, you seem quite energetic today. Are you always like this in the morning? I was under the impression that you’re a nocturnal person.”

“I don’t know…?” The son of Hades tilted his head to the left side, a confused expression appeared on his face. “And what gives you that idea, Solace?”

For a second, Will restrained himself from reaching out and touching the soft curl of black hair that fell to Nico’s shoulder because of his movement. “Because of the nature of your powers, I guess?”

“I see,” Nico bit his lower lip, his voice was cold and flat. Will immediately knew that he said the wrong thing, but before he could curse himself for being an idiot, Nico added. “You’re partially right. I’m not a morning person, and I think I would never be one, but that’s fine. Shadow suits me more than sunshine anyway.”

The son of Apollo decided to change the topic before his hyperactive brain could interpret the other’s words as a rejection. _Seriously, brain?_ “Morning sunlight is good for your health, and a little bit more sunshine couldn’t hurt. Have you had breakfast? If you haven’t, do you want to take some food and go to the lakeside with me?”

“… I forgot that I need to eat for breakfast,” Nico admitted after two seconds of silence, and he avoided Will’s displeased stare. “Don’t look at me like that. And your suggestion sounds good, I agree.”

“I think I need to put you under my supervision from now on to make sure you eat properly,” Will murmured, and when Nico gave him an unimpressed look, he waved his hand. “Don’t glare at me. With those heavy bags under your eyes, you just look like an angry kitten that accidentally drank too much caffeine. Now go to the dining table and take some food.”

“If only you promise to not put too many things on my plate, Solace.”

“It depends on how much you’ll take by yourself,” the son of Apollo shrugged when he started to walk. “And just call me by my name, as I call you Nico. I think we passed the strangers stage a long time ago.”

Nico hesitated for a moment before he gave the blond a tiny smile. “Okay, Will.”

The son of Apollo couldn’t hide his triumphant smile for a good five minutes.

…

“What will you do after eating breakfast?” Will asked when they finally sat down on the lakeside. The view was pleasing to the eye today as ever.

“Lying down for ten hours and trying to digest all the food you forced me to take,” Nico grimaced at his plate. He didn’t look like he would willing to eat all of them.

Will chuckled at that, “C’mon, it’s not that much.”

“Jason and Percy could agree with you. I couldn’t.”

The blond decided to ignore Nico’s complaint, even though he noticed the other’s adorable pout. “I took milk, apple juice, and orange juice. Which kind of drink do you want?”

“Apple juice sounds good,” the black-haired boy mumbled a quiet “thanks” when Will gave him a small box of juice. He stared at that box for two seconds before turning his head at Will with a smirk. “Does the rule _‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’_ apply for its juice?”

“I think not,” Will shook his head, then he gasped while making a shocked expression. “Hey, are you trying to chase me away? That’s mean.”

“Too bad it doesn’t work,” Nico shrugged nonchalantly, starting to eat his cheese sandwich.

“It will take more efforts to make me want to stay away from you, Nico,” the son of Apollo hummed quietly, tearing apart the packaging of his melon bread. “I’m not that easy to give up, you know.”

Nico swallowed his bite before replying. “Yeah, I knew you’re as stubborn as a mule since the moment you told me I had to stay in the infirmary for at least three days, saying that’s “doctor’s order”.”

“Hey, I’m a healer, and it was a professional decision to make,” Will rolled his eyes.

“The way sunlight sparkles when it touches the water surface is amusing,” Nico commented, his eyes fixed on the lake.

The son of Apollo was slightly surprised at the sudden change of subject, but he quickly decided to go with the flow. “Yeah, it’s dazzling.”

“It’s easier to enjoy the view without thinking about how the sun is under your narcissistic father’s domain.”

Will grimaced. “You know how to worsen the mood.”

“It’s kinda my specialty,” Nico shrugged, taking a gulp from his juice.

“Hey, don’t say that.” Will shook his head when he stared at the smaller boy sternly. “I know you were kidding, alright?”

“But you felt worse, and I usually make everyone feel like that, sometimes with just my mere presence,” the son of Hades looked down at his half-eaten sandwich, his voice was monotonous. “I’m used to it, Solace. It’s just a fact.”

“Firstly, I asked you to call me Will, Nico,” the blond said with a soothing voice, the tone that he used to calm everyone down. “Secondly, don’t think like that about yourself. You’re a wonderful human being and anyone who couldn’t know how to treasure you don’t deserve you anyway. And thirdly, screw all these idiots, you don’t need their opinions to label yourself.”

“You are an expert at pep talk, aren’t you?” Nico rolled his eyes, but then he smiled earnestly at the son of Apollo. “Now I know who should I find when I need a confidence boost besides Jason. Thank you, Will.”

“My pleasure,” the blond grinned back at the black-haired boy. “Now shall we move to a lighter topic? Like, I asked to talk about your abilities two days ago. Is that option still valid?”

“That’s okay,” Nico nodded his head. “I’m planning on telling Jason and Reyna if I get some more positive responses. May I ask about your opinion first?”

“I will give you plenty if you demonstrate to me how does it work,” Will beamed, but he stopped Nico when the black-haired boy attempted to put down his plate. “But after you finish your meal, di Angelo.”

“You will never let me do anything until I consume all these food, won’t you?” Nico sighed, but he picked up his fork and start with some blueberries.

Will laughed when the smaller boy chewed quite angrily like the blueberries did something to piss him off. He couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out and ruffling Nico’s hair this time, the other boy was too adorable for his own good. “Hey, don’t be upset with your food. They just want to give you enough energy to maintain a healthy body.”

“I’m not,” Nico glared half-heartedly at Will, but he didn’t slap his hand away. “Just thinking about how should I bury the person who put all of them on my plate this morning, quickly and quietly.”

Will chuckled. “Should I feel worried?”

“You’d better be. And don’t mess up my hair.”

“It doesn’t look like you combed your hair this morning either.”

Nico snorted. “It was stylishly disheveled.”

“Does that really exist?” The son of Apollo laughed. “I like how soft your hair is. Feel wonderful touching them.”

“Flattering won’t save you,” said the black-haired boy dryly.

“Then what should I do to satisfy you, your highness?”

“Spare me from wolfing down all this plate. I could compromise with half of them, alright?”

Will glanced at the other with a sigh. “Your appetite is still so worrisome, but I guess I shouldn’t force you to eat too much at once. Fine, but promise me you will keep a strict schedule with at least three meals a day from now on. You look better than some months ago, but you’re still skinny.”

“You talk like Hazel whenever she IMs me and it’s scary,” Nico complained. “Don’t babysit me, okay? I could take care of myself perfectly fine.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t, but having other people taking care of you is better,” Will smiled gently at the son of Hades, retreating his hand to point at some food on his plate. “Now eat this, this, and that, and then you’re done.”

Nico opted that he shouldn’t argue with Will anymore. “After I finish those things, you still want to see how I control my newest skill, right?”

“I’m counting on that.”


End file.
